Author interview: Victoria Griffin and her "A Journey of Words" story

Today author Victoria Griffin takes over my page with a discussion about her short story, "Bottom of the River," appearing in the anthology A Journey of Words (which also includes my brand new short story, "The Whaler's Dues"):

Synopsis: A man takes a kayak down the river, revisits his life, and decides whether or not he has a future.

What inspired you to write this story? I began with an image of a kayak on a river. Once I began writing that image, the character’s story made me continue.

How long have you been writing? I have been writing as long as I can remember. I have a folder of scary stories from first grade, but my first publication was my junior year of high school, 2011. That was when I began to consider myself a writer.

What genre do you usually write in and why? Most of my stories are horror, suspense, drama, or some combination thereof. During creative writing class in high school, I absolutely loved the stillness in the room when I would read a suspenseful piece. That feeling is always in the back of my mind while I’m writing—is the reader tensing up yet?

What else are you working on writing at the moment? I am querying my suspense novel, Ghostlings, and drafting another, Left at the Sycamore. The former explores the ability of desperation to steal a person’s judgment. The latter deals with a topic I am extremely passionate about: the culture of belonging in southern Appalachia, as both an asset and a poison to the region.

What advice do you have to give to new writers? Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Your life will never stop and say, “Okay, now write.” Your words will never fall pristine and polished onto the page. Writing is work. You have to wedge it into your schedule and tear apart your drafts line by line. But writing is the most rewarding work you will ever find. You get to create and to find truth in an inconsistent world. Remind yourself why you love writing, and do whatever you need to keep working at it.